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The Kikuichi damascus is a OEM blade offered (far cheaper) by many companies, I would avoid that one. If you want damascus+western+performance, the recommendation of the Tanaka R2 is right on point. Very good value for money considering the materials/smith. The only gripe I have seen is that the handles are on the small side, which may or may not be an issue.

There's a new Hiromoto (Tenmi-Jyuraku Damascus) with a similar aesthetic, VG-10 core just been introduced by JCK which is closer to your price range.

The Kikuichi damascus is a OEM blade offered (far cheaper) by many companies, I would avoid that one. If you want damascus+western+performance, the recommendation of the Tanaka R2 is right on point. Very good value for money considering the materials/smith. The only gripe I have seen is that the handles are on the small side, which may or may not be an issue.

There's a new Hiromoto (Tenmi-Jyuraku Damascus) with a similar aesthetic, VG-10 core just been introduced by JCK which is closer to your price range.

I've been leaning towards a Hiromoto since I saw how stunning Dave made them in his spa thread. The Damascus really isn't that important to me, I just thought the way it flowed into the hammered part of the blade on the Kikuichi was rather pretty.

How does the Hiromoto perform? It seems to be a popular knife given all the reworks Dave has done on them.

i would not recommend the hiromoto damasscus line, especially taking the pricing into account. I have 3 knives from the VG10 damascus line (doh! this was my first set of J knives back in 09), while it looks OK, its VG10 was not the best.

I have only read great reviews of the AS line, and if it was me, I'd pick up a 240 AS with Dave package over the damascus line.

I've been leaning towards a Hiromoto since I saw how stunning Dave made them in his spa thread.

Dave-pimped Hiromoto AS's appear from time to time in the buy/sell/trade forum here. Performance is going to be stellar if you pick one of these up, if you put out a "want to buy" post you may get some offers. Be aware that the hagane is not stainless though, although AS is pretty robust once a patina has set in.